The Stranger On The Roadside
AN: Omg, it's already December, where did the time go? Oh well, Covid's still with us but just because the vaccines are on the horizon doesn't mean we can become complacent, respect one another and wear a mask, wash your hands, and continue physical distancing. Let's stay healthy and turn the page on 2020 together.
If any Georgians are reading this fic, you hold the balance of power in your hands, so please remember to register by December 7th to exercise your right to vote in the Georgia senate runoffs on January 5, 2021. Note: early voting starts December 14th. Vote and turn the senate blue #DeflateMcConnell; give Joe & Kamala the resources they need to get the job done right. You sent them to the top offices in the land so see it through. #BLM
The Bluebird Motel, Unit #18
Michonne unlocked the lilac door with the key on the lilac tag and walked into unit eighteen. The room remained unchanged from her two previous visits. Exhausted from the night before, she deposited her handbag on the nearby chair, kicked off her shoes, removed the sling from around her neck and sat on the side of the bed and allowed herself to fall back onto the firm mattress beneath her.
The events and truths of the past twenty-four hours swirled around inside her head and clashed against her skull competing for her attention. Her head ached and the localized anesthetic she received for her hand had begun to wear off. Her hand throbbed, but all she could do was to curl up on the bed and wait for the painkillers she'd taken earlier to kick in and do their job.
In the meantime, she willed her mind to find a safe place away from the memories of a disastrous date night, the fight with Malyk, discovering her mother's neighbour was more than just the neighbour and sleeping in a twin bed with a restless RJ all night long, but coup de grâce not only was her father still alive but the fact that her mother had known the identity of her grandson's father for two years and decided against telling her.
When the latter bombshell dropped, she damn near sliced her fingers off. Had Malyk not been present, she was certain the damage to her hand would have been worse because she panicked she couldn't remember any of her first aid training and she refused to let her mother near her.
Michonne massaged her temples for relief but she still heard her mother's unapologetic voice on a loop inside her head, "He didn't just leave me, baby, if he did—I could handle that. He left US, and for that reason, yes, your father is dead to me—to us because he shirked his fatherly duties for you and that, my baby, that's just unforgivable. Unlike me, you have two men in your life who want to do the right thing. They want to be and are both fathers to my grandson. You'll never have to explain to him why his dad's never around because he's loved and they're tripping over themselves to step up and be a role model of who a father should be to his son. I only wished that was the case for you, but I did my best to make sure you want for nothing."
Michonne knew her mother loved her. She never doubted it. Her mother was as fierce as she was beautiful; a proud Black woman who worked hard despite one hardship or another, she persevered while raising a small child. Her mother's thrifty ways always ensured a roof over their heads and food to eat.
Her mother instilled in her the value of hard work and the meaning of family and community. But while Michonne could forgive her mother for lying about her father because, in truth, he didn't just leave her mother, she was also a part of the package he left behind. That said, however, her mother concealed the truth about the identity of RJ's father and that she couldn't forgive. She knew why she did it, but it was her decision to make and hers alone, not her mother's. Her head throbbed from the lies her mother used to cocoon her over the years.
At the time of her mother's confession, no one dared speak of the elephant in the room because her mother's actions were very telling. They were designed to protect Malyk. She loved Malyk like a son, so it was no surprise that she threatened the nosy store manager who recognized her grandson when she frequented the supermarket a few years back. It was obvious her mother wanted her to have a happy life, one with fewer hardships than she's had to endure. Malyk was a good catch and he would do anything for her daughter—he was even willing to be a father to his unfaithful wife's lovechild and it took a special man to do that, so her mother concealed the truth. Her mother never anticipated that this Rick Grimes would run into her daughter's potential sibling and marry her.
...
The Dream
After some time, the pills finally kicked in and with heavy lids, an exhausted Michonne gave herself up to their will.
Michonne fell asleep, but hers was not a dreamless sleep. Her mind transported her to a familiar bubble, to a place in time, she had locked away and vowed never to return.
...
He cupped her face and kissed her roughly. She tastes herself on his lips and his tongue and moaned.
He tugged at her earlobe, nibbled and licked a path down the side of her neck to her collarbone and up the other. "I want you, Nikki!" His gruff voice an octave lower was urgent with need.
She felt his hardness against her stomach constrained by his clothing. The way he called out her name— caused chills to run up and down her spine. She knew what he needed and he wouldn't—couldn't be gentle—not after the hunger registered on his face after tasting her juices for the very first time.
From the moment they kissed in the parking lot, she felt his energy; it was unlike anything she ever experienced before and she relished it. She ached to feel him deep within her.
She moistened her lips and held his lust-fueled gaze. She needed his touch like she needed oxygen. And as if for emphasis, she took her nipple between her thumb and index fingers and teased it. The delicious pain caused her center to ache for friction so she slid her hand between her legs, moistened her lips and moaned through partially opened lips as her fingers slid between her legs and buried themselves between her slick wet folds.
He seemed almost jealous as he watched her body writhe from her own ministrations, so he moistened his lips and quickly peeled off his sweatpants and stood before her with his throbbing cock in his hand.
Her eyes landed on his huge manhood. She watched him palmed it a few times. She watched the precum glisten and dripped from its bulbous head. She pinched and flicked her nipple, rubbed her pearl and fingered herself as her body writhe from the friction in anticipation of their connection.
She inhaled deeply and bit her lip as he removed her fingers and took them into his warm mouth and swirled his soft tongue around them and licked her juices clean. His lust-fueled sapphire gaze held her attention, her breath hitched and her sex clenched. His rough hand lay on her flat stomach as he tapped his steeled member on her swollen wet lips sending tiny electric shocks to her core.
"I want you inside me, Rick. NOW!" Her words no sooner died on her lips, when she felt his huge thick veiny cock sunk deep inside her slick wet walls.
"Fuck!" he exclaimed as his member breached her slick walls.
She gasped for air as his length stretched her out and filled her up. She inhaled the scent of the cheap motel soap from his shower co-mingled with the faint hint of sandalwood. Her manicured nails bit into his back as she held him tight and moaned.
As if he read her mind, he asked cockily, "Too much?"
She shook her head no, she was pleasantly surprised. His size certainly explained the bow-legged strut.
His cock impaled her over and over, and she felt every nerve ending in her body tremble, she was about to explode yet again. "Oh, God!" she cried out as her eyes rolled to the back of her head where she stood atop a precipice on the verge of falling into the abyss. The tiny troughs had been building and the crest was inevitable. His rough hands held either side of her neck with her leg extended over his shoulder as his cock assaulted her pleasure canal over and over. Each thrust went deeper than the one before and caused her toes to curl. His grunts made her wetter and as her strangled moans grew louder, he drilled harder. The slapping of his skin on hers and the sloshy wet sound as he slid in and out of her filled the room. Her pussy pulsed around his manhood and she screamed, "Fuck! Oh, God!" Her legs trembled as her orgasm crest and a much stronger one began.
"God's not responsible for the way you're feeling, Nikki. Open your eyes, I want you to see who is," his gravelly voice commanded.
She found his dominant nature sexy as hell.
She obeyed and opened her eyes to see his sweat-slicked dark brown curls plastered against his head. His lust-fueled dark blue sapphire eyes pierced through the very depth of her being. His beautiful pink lips were rosier and plumper than before and very sexy. His chiselled hairless torso was coated in a fine sheen of perspiration and his taut biceps glistened.
She felt the familiar pull. He drilled—she gushed and her screams simply fueled his force.
He paused allowing her time to catch her breath.
"Don't stop!" She begged as she felt the undertow nearing. She needed to feel him like she needed air, "Please, don't stop!" She desperately pleaded for another release. At this point, she'd give him whatever he wanted because she was at his mercy and he enjoyed it.
His lips roughly grazed hers giving her just enough to keep her wanting more. Thrust. Stop. Thrust. Stop.
"Fuck me hard, Rick!" She begged. She no longer recognized her own voice.
"Do you trust me?" he asked in a controlled breath.
"Yes! Make me cum," she begged, writhing beneath him to propel him to move, her breathing ragged and her pussy desperate for friction. Her body craved his like a drug.
"Good!" He replied kissing her forcefully and their tongues duelled for dominance as they moaned together. His cock slowly rocked into her once more and slowly their rhythm grew more urgent, faster and harder and she felt his hands tightened around her neck. Her sex tightened around his manhood and he commanded.
"Cum for me, baby."
On his command, her orgasm ripped through her body and exploded, her body shook. She saw stars and screamed his name as he pistoned into her several times more causing minor tremors to seize her body as he reached his own completion with a loud guttural moan. He thrust into her slick walls a few more times emptying his seed deep inside of her.
The weight of his body pinned her beneath him, they kissed tenderly and then he fell away, the two panting to regulate their breathing.
...
The Talk, Part I
Michonne awoke startled and disoriented. The dream should not have happened. She was glad for the interruption.
There was a knock at the door and she wondered why Malyk didn't just enter the room. The knocking continued, but when she heard "Nikki," she knew she was back to where it all began, only one man ever called her that, the man she had been dreaming about.
She got out of bed and checked her reflection in the mirror. She placed the sling around her neck and placed her arm in it. She then walked to the door and opened it slightly.
Rick, who decided to leave after receiving no answer, heard the door click behind him and turned to see the partially opened door. He turned around and walked back down the pathway and entered the now opened door, which closed after he entered the room.
"Hey!" a groggy Michonne added in greeting.
Rick noticed the sling around her neck and her bandaged left hand and immediately his face turned crimson. "What the fuck did he do?" he asked, reaching to touch her arm. His anger was palpable. His temples pulsed angrily at the side of his head and his usually calm eyes were glacial not at her but for what her presumed occurred.
"Relax, it was an accident. I hurt myself."
She was hurt and he wanted to hold her, but it took everything in his power to control the impulse to embrace her because the lines were getting blurred.
"This is serious, Nikki—I mean Michonne. You don't need to lie for him," Rick added, pointing to her arm. "In my line of work, I see this shit every day and I needn't tell you, this isn't something I want my son to witness."
"Calm down, Rick. Malyk is not a violent man. As I've said before, it was an accident. I don't need rescuing. You already have a damsel that needs saving."
Michonne's comment didn't go unnoticed. Rick opened his mouth to respond but thought better of it. Instead, he blinked and his cold blue eyes softened. He walked further into the room, but uncertain as to what to do, he paced back and forth while he carefully chose his next words.
Rick paced back and forth with his left hand akimbo on his hip while deep in thought and pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand. He knew Michonne was nothing like his wife, she had a rebellious streak and as a result, he needed to strike the perfect balance. Finally, he turned on his heels and spoke.
"From this point on, there can be no lies between us—no half-truths either. Agreed?"
"I don't want to fight with you, Rick. I asked you here so that we might speak. I didn't want to do this in Macon because everyone knows you there and I didn't want to create unnecessary problems for either of us. This is my hometown, most of the folks I went to school with have all moved away, but my mother is still a part of this community, hence why we're hiding out here in the fringes."
Rick looked to the floor as Michonne spoke something she noticed. Her gut told her something was wrong. She realized he was more than four hours late, "Please, I think we should sit down." She guided him towards the chair next to the bed and placed her handbag on the desk.
Rick sat down.
...
"What's wrong, Rick?" Michonne gently asked.
But, Rick deflected with a question of his own, "How did you hurt yourself, Michonne?"
"I was having a heated discussion with my mother and she said something that shocked me. But I think we should start from the beginning. You said, no lies—no half-truths. I want no deflecting." Michonne's warm brown eyes found his sad blue eyes. After his anger subsided, there was something noticeably different about him, a distinct sadness and his shoulders slumped a little. Again, she knew in her gut that it no doubt stemmed from the night before.
In the past twenty-four hours, a lot of truths surfaced and she was about to reveal something to him that she denied herself.
"About last night, when I saw you—the way you looked at me, I felt something, Rick. I shouldn't have, but I did. At first, I thought they were the memories of seeing you again. But they're not. I shouldn't be having these feelings, Rick—especially."
"Especially, what?"
"Malyk— it's ludicrous. But it could be true."
"I'm fairly certain both our households were on fire last night and I don't mean in a good way. Do you regret it—I mean, coming back here after you dropped me off?"
"At first, yes. The morning after when I walked out that door," Michonne's eyes gazed at the door. "I couldn't believe I had betrayed my vows. The force between us that night was crazy. I recall standing outside the door that night and being jealous that you were potentially not alone inside. But six weeks later, when I started exhibiting the first signs of pregnancy, it all changed. There was suddenly a miracle that I thought was beyond reach for us without adoption.
Rick raised a questioning brow in her direction.
"Malyk's sterile and my second IVF treatment failed. It never occurred to me that night that it could happen. How about you, do you regret it now?"
"No." His answer clear and unequivocal. "I was drawn to you and I didn't fight it. That night cleared up any questions I had about my fiancée. If I loved her, I couldn't have been with you—you saved me a divorce in the long run." Rick chuckled.
What's so funny? Michonne inquired.
"I recalled you telling me you went to your mother's on Friday night's so I came by here every Friday night for a month hoping that your vehicle might be out front of this door. I know you told me there was no future for us beyond that night, but a guy could dream. I don't know, a selfish part of me had hoped that maybe that night meant something more to you."
"I did come."
Her response caused him to straighten up and a tinge of colour began to creep across his face. He raised a brow in his silent quest for information.
"It was right after I felt him move for the first time; things weren't great at home, and Malyk hadn't touched me in months. We were having a child together but we slept separately. I loved him, he loved me but he needed time to process it all. That night I only meant to be here for an hour or two but I was so exhausted I fell asleep. This place will always be special to me. A miracle happened here."
"About last night, I was wrong to look at you the way I did and I'm sorry. I love my wife, but I'd be lying if I said that night hadn't resurfaced especially after seeing you in that restaurant. I told you no lies, no half-truths, so in full disclosure, yes, I'm still attracted to you but we both have way too much to lose."
"And what else, aren't you telling me?" Michonne asked, popping two pills into her mouth and chasing them with some water.
"They're gone. Charmaine packed her bags and left with my daughter."
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Rick. I'm sure she just needed some space to think. She'll be back."
"She accused me of being more interested in starting a life with a son who suddenly dropped into my life than being present in their lives. She wanted a fight last night but I refused. I went to work today to avoid a fight because no good can come of it."
"What did you expect when you married a child?" Michonne regretted the words the moment she said them.
"Michonne, I didn't tell you that for you to pass judgment. How the hell is this thang ever going to work when neither of you are willing to give an inch for the children's sake?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."
"I know you well enough to know you don't say or do anythang you don't mean to. Where's my son?"
"Certainly not here." Michonne chuckled to lighten the mood but quickly corrected herself after remembering his current situation. "He freaked out at the sight of the blood when he and Malyk walked into the kitchen so Malyk took him to Atlanta to see his friends. Plus, he wants to spend a few days with him before everything turns upside down. We'll tell him when they come back then we'll invite you over for dinner. I think we should take it slow. After he gets accustomed to you then we'll introduce Teia. I will warn you, it could be a challenge since they got off on the wrong foot."
"What are you talking about?"
"She really didn't tell you anything even after the dinner from hell?"
"I'm asking you."
"The kids got into a brawl over the last box of Cap' N Crunch which is currently at your house. That's how we met when the store manager offered to call you for your wife, which she declined, but I really think the woman really wanted to get something started."
"Carol's a damn busy body. She tried to set me up with her daughter, Sofia after I split up with my ex-fiancée, but I turned her down. What do you mean by she wanted to start something?"
"Well, your face on a Black boy a few years older than your daughter, especially one you didn't even know existed until a few days ago is a little hard to miss. It was the second time she saw him. She knew about your son for two years. I found out this morning that my mother knew your name because Carol recognized your face, apparently my mother threatened her to keep her mouth shut."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Rick stood up frustrated that it seemed everyone around him seemed to be more aware of what was going on in his own damn life but him.
"I kid you not, that's how I damn near lost my hand."
Michonne allowed him time to let it all sink in. She felt for him having had her world turned upside down earlier that day.
...
After some time, Rick looked at Michonne and somehow he knew there was more. "What is it?" he demanded a little more forceful than he intended.
"Nothing?"
"How is this being honest?" he asked.
"What attracted you to her?"
Rick chuckled, "At the picnic, I was with the Commissioner, and she was with a group of her girlfriends who were all whispering and staring in my direction but she took one look at me and seemed indifferent. She intrigued me. I found her beautiful, but her rejection of me without even giving me a chance had me puzzled."
"Did she ever tell you why?"
"Yeah, eventually."
"Oh?"
"Morgan, the Commissioner asked the Governor to put in a good word for me because he knows I'm not the political type."
"Yet you're an elected official."
Rick chuckled at the irony. "I get the job done, that's all that's important. I'm quiet and I don't meddle in what doesn't concern me. I hear the gossip but obviously not about what concerns me."
"What happened on your date? Did you get fresh with her?" Michonne asked mischievously remembering the night they spent together.
"You seem to be enjoying this way too much."
"Because it gets better by the minute, please do tell?"
"I'm afraid nothing that exciting, she asked two questions and I failed them."
"Oh?" Michonne asked giddily like a schoolgirl.
"Have I ever dated a Black girl before? And have I ever cheated before? I told her that I never actually dated a Black girl but I met one a while back and we had a rather interesting night. Then I told her that's when I cheated on my fiancée and I broke it off with her the next day. The cheating was a deal-breaker. She excused herself and went to the ladies' room but she never came back."
"But you two managed to patch things up, how did that happen?"
"Why the third degree, Michonne?"
"I want to know this woman what makes her tick?"
"Why? Come to think of it, your husband creeped her out last night? Does he know her?"
"I need to know, does she remind you of anyone?"
"No. Why?"
"Malyk and I fought about the way he was distracted by her. I asked him the very same thing. He swore that we could be related based on some of her mannerisms."
Rick laughed. "He's reaching, right?"
"Why because she's light and I'm dark?"
Rick, offended by her question, didn't dignify it with a response. "Michonne, you just told me you're from King County, Georgia, Charmaine folks met in New York, she was born there and when her father walked out, her mother returned to Houston to raise her with the help of her folks."
"Well, another little bombshell my mother shared with me today is that my father's actually alive and well. He walked out on us and moved in with his assistant. He met her while on a project up in New York, he got promoted and transferred there. He was supposed to be getting a place for the family but when we visited it was a one-bedroom apartment. Mom claimed they agreed to save money to be able to afford something bigger but eventually his number changed and he stopped taking her calls at the office. As a result, she told me he was dead."
"What's your father's name?"
"Robert Franklyn Carter.
"That son of a bitch."
"With that kind of a reaction, I take it that you're married to my half-sister."
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